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connec t ion Volume 3 — Issue 12— December 2012
www.mesonet.org
After a Grinch of a drought the past several years in
Oklahoma, there are indicators that some ‘giveth’ is helping
to provide relief for what has been ‘taketh away.’
According to Francie Tolle, Executive Director, of the USDA
Oklahoma State Farm Service Agency, there are numerous
disaster programs, some of which were set forth by the 2008
Farm Bill, to help provide relief for this past year’s drought.
This cornucopia includes the Livestock Forage Program,
Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, Non-insured
Disaster Program, Emergency Conservation Program, and
Conservation Reserve Program. Over the past year, these
programs have collectively returned over $220 million dollars
to Oklahoma farmers.
“Information from the Mesonet has been instrumental in
providing factual data on the conditions our state may be
facing,” Tolle said.
–by Kevin Kloesel A Season of Giving
In the same spirit as a letter to the North Pole, the $220
million returned to Oklahomans also started with a list.
However, asking for $220 million to be placed under the
tree requires significant and scientifically sound justification!
In Oklahoma, it is the Mesonet that provides this valuable
service. The scientists at the Oklahoma Climate Survey
check Mesonet data, and sometimes twice, to assess the
naughty and nice of our weather and climate conditions. In
this way, the Mesonet allows Oklahomans to maximize the
jingle from these important disaster relief programs.
“Counties are reliant on the information that is offered by the
Mesonet to justify their loss submissions,” Tolle said. “While
there is no way to specify the total financial benefit, it is safe
to say that many producers were able to feed livestock that
would have otherwise had to be sold.”
And that’s A Christmas Story we can all be proud of!

connec t ion Volume 3 — Issue 12— December 2012
www.mesonet.org
After a Grinch of a drought the past several years in
Oklahoma, there are indicators that some ‘giveth’ is helping
to provide relief for what has been ‘taketh away.’
According to Francie Tolle, Executive Director, of the USDA
Oklahoma State Farm Service Agency, there are numerous
disaster programs, some of which were set forth by the 2008
Farm Bill, to help provide relief for this past year’s drought.
This cornucopia includes the Livestock Forage Program,
Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, Non-insured
Disaster Program, Emergency Conservation Program, and
Conservation Reserve Program. Over the past year, these
programs have collectively returned over $220 million dollars
to Oklahoma farmers.
“Information from the Mesonet has been instrumental in
providing factual data on the conditions our state may be
facing,” Tolle said.
–by Kevin Kloesel A Season of Giving
In the same spirit as a letter to the North Pole, the $220
million returned to Oklahomans also started with a list.
However, asking for $220 million to be placed under the
tree requires significant and scientifically sound justification!
In Oklahoma, it is the Mesonet that provides this valuable
service. The scientists at the Oklahoma Climate Survey
check Mesonet data, and sometimes twice, to assess the
naughty and nice of our weather and climate conditions. In
this way, the Mesonet allows Oklahomans to maximize the
jingle from these important disaster relief programs.
“Counties are reliant on the information that is offered by the
Mesonet to justify their loss submissions,” Tolle said. “While
there is no way to specify the total financial benefit, it is safe
to say that many producers were able to feed livestock that
would have otherwise had to be sold.”
And that’s A Christmas Story we can all be proud of!